Article by Rob Newell
Not anymore but until recently the NFC West has stoically remained out of
the news headlines, following the Rams
return to the City of Angels the most
controversial thing coming out of the NFC West was Seattle QB Russell Wilson and his engagement, no 49ers drinking and driving, no domestic
violence reported, but then the NFL decided to release the 2016 schedule and
the proverbial damn was broken.
Last year the Rams front office duo of Jeff Fisher and Les Snead were adamant all the way up to and through the combine
that Sam Bradford was their man no
matter what, only to trade him to Philadelphia
for Nick Foles. So when they tried the same tactic this year
singing the apparent many virtues of Case
Keenum, not many of us were buying.
Having said that, and with the knowledge that the Rams needed a
Quarterback, something that the move to Los Angeles only highlights, to trade
up from number 15 to number 1 was a surprise.
Tennessee
Titans GM Jon Robinson made sure that everyone knew
the possibility of a trade was on the table, but with the cost of moving up
just a few spaces in the draft order (measured ironically enough by what the
Rams received from Washington for Robert Griffin III) seemingly so high,
no one was really looking much below Dallas
Cowboys or at a push the Philadelphia Eagles as the lowest lying trade
partners. That is now blown out of the
water with the Rams passing over in total two first round, two second rounds
and two third rounds over the next few seasons for this year’s first pick and a
couple of lower round selections. You
would be forgiven for thinking there was some sort of cosmic balancing act at
work for the Rams to be the one who gave up the picks for this deal.
The reason everyone was considering a deal
with the Titans was of course to get above Cleveland
whom everyone believed was odds on to take a QB at number two, however they
have picked up Griffin III of all QB’s which in some ways closes some of these
draft loops in the narrative, and now the Browns
may not be going the QB route. Everyone
assumed correctly as it seems that the Titans with Marcus Mariota were set at that position, and if GM’s around the
league are going to overpay, it will be for a perceived franchise QB.
Laremy Tunsil - Ole Miss
The Rams are of course now in full spin
mode, saying that there are many players they are considering with their newly
acquired number one pick, but once again, pay little credence to this
storyline. The Rams haven’t moved up from Number 15 to take a Left Tackle no
matter how good a player Laremy Tunsil may
be, the simple truth is that either Carson
Wentz or Jared Goff are moving
to Hollywood and all the pressure the
LA spotlight brings will be on them.
They will be backed up by a premier running game spearheaded of course
by Todd Gurley and a top level
defence featuring Aaron Donald and Robert
Quinn.
Whichever one it is, will struggle with the
passing game though. The Rams air attack
woes were not all on the QB last year, it is not the most inspiring group of
receivers outside Tavon Austin whom
they are still identifying how to use, and with so many picks gone in acquiring
the QB there is not much help coming on the Receiver front anytime soon, unless
they have a deal in the offing for a current star. No doubt you will have seen the rumors that
Wentz is the man the Rams are leaning towards, and this seems to be more smoke
and mirrors to me. My belief is that in
the year Pro Football returns to Los Angeles it will be the local boy, college
star Goff who the Rams select. It would
be a media dream and a story that sells, box office in the most commercial city
in the world.
So what does this mean for the draft now? The acknowledged number one contenders Tunsil, Jalen Ramsey are all moving
down the order with the first QB off the board at number one. The other QB should now be selected at number
two I would wager, but not guaranteed to be the Browns anymore. All those teams that wanted a QB and thought
they might have had a chance in the initial order, Dallas, San Francisco and
Philadelphia will now have their resolve tested. How highly do they rate the
other QB deemed to be a first round talent are they willing to trade with
Cleveland to get him? That will be a
steep price too as the Browns could quite conceivably be happy to take him
themselves if nobody bites.
The rest of the top 7 picking teams are all
very happy in the sense that Tunsil, Ramsey, Myles Jack, DeForest Buckner
and Ezekiel Elliott are all going to be there and if your picking 3 to 7 you
are guaranteed one of these unless someone jumps up again. The Titans and maybe the Browns are going to
be sitting on a lot of picks and I expect them to move further in the draft and
look to package something to get back in the first round for more first round
players.
The other player all this could impact in
the West of course is 49ers QB Colin
Kaepernick. After one of the more
protracted and tedious will he won’t he games in history this saga must surely
draw to a close soon. As the first round
QB talents go off the board the availability of Kaepernick will once again seem
attractive to some teams and the 49ers who so far have been resolute about the
need for a third round pick in return, may also be willing to budge, There is a chance of a pre-draft deal with
the Jets for Kaepernick and Mo Wilkerson
to swap coasts, but come the start of 2016 I think Kaepernick will finally be
on the bench for another team whilst Blaine
Gabbert starts in San Francisco backed up by a mid-round draft selection,
one of the many picks the 49ers have this year.
Meanwhile up in the North West the original
Legion of Boom has been reunited as Brandon Browner has returned to
Seattle. Based on the last few seasons
expect a barrage of yellow flags to accompany him as he may just be one of the
first to test the referee’s under the new personal conduct policy.

Article by Rob Newell
Following the Super
Bowl and before the combine and the opening of Free Agency is as close as the NFL will get to an off season, yet
even in this apparent lull the NFL still throws up some stories, some of which
will have a large impact for fans of the NFC West. Below I bring you this news from the end of
the 2015 season to date.
Firstly the biggest change facing the division is
geographical and you could argue that the NFC West is now a lot more Western
that it was previously. The worst kept
secret in the last 12 months was that the Rams
were the team to kick-start the NFL relaunch of a Los Angeles franchise and after a 30-2 owners vote at the league
meeting the LA Rams are once again
appearing on the schedule. For those NFL
fans who remember the 1980’s and beyond this is a move that brings back a
feeling of familiarity.
For Rams fans who are sticking with the team
following the move from St Louis, it
turns out not everything is going to be familiar. This past week the Rams have announced the
release of Chris Long, James Laurinaitis
and Jared Cook, news that came as
quite a shock for fans and also to the players themselves. Since the relocation to LA was confirmed,
Long and Laurinaitis in particular have been used to sell the Rams to the LA
populous so it is a little strange that these two players in particular will
not be suiting it up in September. The
release of Cook is not as big a surprise, his time in St Louis did not set the
league on fire and although you can point to the obvious QB issues as a
contributing factor, there were many drops and disappointments that were a
source of frustration to many Rams fans.
Meanwhile up in the Pacific North West, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves for
the first time in a few years not required to play football in early February,
for one Seahawk in particular this lull proved to be too much. With just about 10 minutes remaining in Super
Bowl a picture was tweeted of a pair of cleats hanging from a phone line, a
simple image perhaps that says 1000 words.
Then again when have we ever known Marshawn
Lynch to use actual words, what we do know is that the Beast Quake era is officially over and all the responsibility will
now fall squarely on the shoulders of QB Russell
Wilson.
The Seahawks had better do a better job of
protecting him going forward, as last year the sight of Wilson scrambling, not
through choice but because the opposing DL was coming swarming through the
middle of the Seahawks OL was commonplace.
Wilson has the talent and in Christine
Michael and Thomas Rawls there
are some good Running Backs still on this team, but Marshawn these last few
years when healthy has been arguably the most productive in the league and that
is a large hole to fill on a permanent basis.
Now on to the team that has cause to the busiest in
the West, the San Francisco 49ers,
who have announced that their new head coach is Chip Kelly, after Jim
Tomsula was one and done in San Fran.
This was not a surprise to anyone and it's hard not to feel that Tomsula
was a patsy who was a buffer to enable the team to move from Jim Harbaugh to another recognised
coach who news doesn't have the pressure of having to directly replace the
success that Harbaugh enjoyed. Mind you
$14million will make most people happy to be a patsy.
Right from the press conference though you could
sense that the Niners had a coach who knew what he was about, in direct
contrast to Tomsula last year. Kelly is
also it seems on a mission to make nice as much as possible, after many
accusations of possible racism to lack of emotional intelligence whilst in Philadelphia. Kelly handled the many questions regarding
the 49ers QB situation by ensuring whenever one was mentioned he included the
other in his answer. Several stories
have linked Kaepernick to Kelly but
many observers feel that Blaine Gabbert might
be the better fit for Kelly’s offensive schemes.
The Niners do have 12 picks in the upcoming draft
including the number 7 overall, as well as a ton of salary cap space which may
make Free Agency exciting so despite all the bluster, there may be a rookie QB
coming to San Francisco to compete for the starting job yet. Whoever is under centre they will have a new
toy at a Wide Receiver as Eric Rodgers
has been signed from the Canadian
Football League where he was the leading receiver last year. At 6ft 2 and fast, Rodgers could be a welcome
addition to what was a largely unproductive unit last time around.
As for the Arizona
Cardinals, they have been mainly quiet since the NFC Championship game
beating by the Panthers, but under
coach Arians you can be sure they
will be back to compete next year.
Rookie David Johnson could be
set to breakthrough to real star status to complement one of the most
aggressive passing attacks in the league.
They have just recently signed an option for a former Aussie Rules player to try out as a
Centre, so mane the land Down Under
is the next resource for these Western teams.

Article by Sam Beresford
Late last week it was announced that star running back of
the Chicago Bears, Matt Forte, will
not be re-joining the team next season. Forte was informed by General Manager Ryan Pace that he was
not a part of the team’s future plans. Forte wrote on Instagram “Despite my wishes, my days as a member of
the Chicago Bears have sadly come to an end…. I will remain grateful for my
time spent in Chicago and being able to play for an organization with such a
rich history”. You can clearly see Forte’s gratitude towards Chicago
for his 8,602 yard, 8-year career. However, with this news, we have to ask the
question, where will Forte be playing in 2016. Teams should be wary of signing
an aging running back, just ask the Philadelphia
Eagles!
1. New England Patriots
A popular choice for Forte would be the Patriots. New
England are desperate for a lead back after having to be led by an aging Steven Jackson in the play-offs. Forte
could complement up and coming rusher Dion
Lewis, who missed the end of last year through injury. Lewis and Forte are
both great pass catchers and can give opponents something else to worry about.
All-time great coach Bill Belichick
would be able to create a game plan around Forte and Lewis, helping to take the
pressure off Tom Brady. On Forte’s
Instagram account he states that he is “trying to win a championship”, New
England may give him the best chance of achieving his goal. The Pats could have
the most dynamic back-field in the league, not that they need any more help!
2. New York Jets
With Chris Ivory
unlikely to re-sign with gang green, and Bilal
Powell’s future in doubt, could the Jets be in the mix for signing Forte?
They have always been based off their running game, with the ability to play
action and hit aerial duo Brandon
Marshall and Eric Decker. Last
season, New York looked impressive when Ivory was thundering through defenders,
easing the pressure off Ryan Fitzpatrick.
On the other hand, they struggled without the ground and pound Ivory, this was
shown in the loss to the Oakland Raiders,
where the missing Ivory was apparent.
3. Dallas Cowboys
This is the obvious choice. With the All-Pro offensive line
that the Cowboys boast, Forte would surely be able to carve up defences. Last season,
that line made mediocre Darren McFadden
look like an above average starter, running for over 1000 yards in just 10
starts. Forte may not be able to win a championship in Dallas but he would be
the lead back, allowing him to rack up some yards, helping to solidify his
chances of getting into Canton. This
move would scream Jerry Jones, who
loves to make a splash in free agency.
4. Tennessee Titans
Maybe an odd choice for Forte, but not for the Titans. The
Titans now believe they have a franchise quarterback under centre, in Marcus Mariota, now all the need is a
franchise running back. Many experts believe that the Titans will improve their
offensive line in this year’s draft, with Tunsil
being the favourite. Should the receivers continue to improve, especially Green-Beckham, Forte, partnered with David Cobb and this new and improved
offensive line, could make the Titans offence something to look forward to next
year. They definitely have the cap room to facilitate bringing in Forte, which
could help bring the Titans out of the NFL abyss.
Overall, it all depends on what Forte really wants, money or
a ring? Should it be the latter, unfortunately for most, I could definitely see
Forte take a pay cut to sign with the Patriots. Although, most would love to
see Forte bring hope to a sorry franchise such as the Titans.

Article by Rob Newell
There were mixed fortunes for the NFC West
teams involved in this weekend’s divisional round matchups, but the division
champion Arizona Cardinals
eventually booked their spot in the coming weekend’s Championship round with a
thrilling 26-20 win at home over the Green
Bay Packers following Overtime.
This was a game that many thought following
their Week 16 matchup might just be another blowout victory for the Cardinals,
but this was a different Green Bay Packer team, with some of their defensive
pieces back. Oh and of course this team
has Aaron Rodgers, and despite the
fact that when Randall Cobb went
down in the first quarter, Rodgers was missing his top four receivers, when you
have Rodgers you have a chance.
His Arizona counterpart Carson Palmer was looking for his first
career postseason win and at times looked a little tight, but as the game wore
on and it time for a big play, Palmer was able to relax into the game and he of
course had all of his receivers available and combined they just may be the
best trio in the game, in the form of course of John Brown, Michael Floyd and the Hall of Famer in waiting Larry Fitzgerald.
Takeaways from this game of note, after a
slow start the Arizona Cardinal defence stepped up and stopped the Packers from
13-7 down right up to the final minute of regulation time. Then facing a 4th and 20 from their own 5
with 55 seconds on the clock, Aaron Rodgers was in his element, with regulation
time ending not for the first time this season on an immaculate Rodgers Hail
Mary pass, this time to Jeff Janis. One of two TD’s for Janis on the day as he
stepped up with 145 yards from 7 catches.
Is there a better team than the Packers at
coming down with Hail Mary balls, either they are so well coached that they
spend time working on this as a drill or they are incredibly lucky? Either way Rodgers did it again and tied this
game up at 20 each and forced Overtime.
This directly led to what will no doubt become known as Coingate or Tossgate as the referee was seemingly unable to toss the coin
properly in a coin flip that resulted with Arizona getting the ball.
When the pressure is on your big players
step up and has there ever been a better big time pressure player than Larry
Fitzgerald. If Jeff Janis had a day for
Green Bay then Fitzgerald was simply magical.
On the day 8 balls for 176 yards including the huge 75 yard play to the
Packers 5 yard line when for all the world Palmer looked like he was going to
be sacked, Palmer instead just about spun out of it and found Fitzgerald who
had found space and the rest was inevitable as he beat 6 Packers before just
being tackled 75 yards downfield. Not to
be denied two plays later, both passes to Fitzgerald and the game was over and
Arizona are heading to Carolina in
what should be a game worthy of the Super
Bowl itself.
In the other game the other NFC West team Seattle Seahawks deserve credit for
winning the second half of their divisional round game 24-0. Given they have struggled in many games in the
fourth quarter they would normally be overjoyed at such a strong late game
showing, however the fact they were soundly embarrassed in the first half by
31-0 meant this late game effort was doomed to fall short.
Therefore the NFC kings are dead, long live
the new kings will it be Carolina Panthers the number one seeded 15-1 team or
the Cardinals no 2 seed at 13-3. Next Sunday sure is going to be fun. The Seahawks will be kicking themselves that
they will not be part of it.
Maybe Russell
Wilson and teammates were still frozen from their time in Minnesota last week and even the return
of Beast Mode could not thaw them out
as Carolina dominated on offence and defence in the first half. When the Panthers have a big lead strange
things happen though and they could easily have lost 4 games this season in
very similar circumstances as teams have come back to tie or take the lead from
seemingly dead situations. Wilson is
too good to keep quiet for an entire game though and the second half was all
Seattle and he got it back to a one score game which seemed fair before the
game, but the way the two teams got to their points was a little surprising.
One point of note, this defeat could well
be the last time Marshawn Lynch
takes the field for the Seahawks, given his salary cap hit next year if he
comes back and the emergence of Thomas
Rawles in relief of Lynch this year, indications are Lynch is done in
Seattle, shame it wasn’t a bigger game from the Beast Mode if this turns out to
be true.

Article by Rob Newell
Welcome to the ever changing world of the
NFL and the NFC West in
particular. With the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals still firmly
entrenched in the race to Super Bowl 50, the divisions other two teams have
decided that they do not want to be out of the NFL news cycle for long either.
As I wrote previously, the Rams are on the move back to Los Angeles and it does seem that moves
are afoot to reintroduce the old LA Rams uniforms, and now the San Francisco 49ers have decided it was
their turn to make the headlines. For a
team based not a million miles away from Silicon
Valley, it may be fitting that a man called Chip was today confirmed as the
new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
In terms of coaching personalities, the NFC
West was already well off with Bruce
Arians and Pete Carrol
established as two of the more characterful coaches in the game. Chip
Kelly was a coach who probably ranked up there with these two and now he
joins the sidelines of the NFC West we are in for some interesting divisional
matchups next year.
In many ways it feels a strange
appointment, Kelly was involved in a big power play last season where he wanted
full control of personnel decisions and the 53 man roster, whereas he comes to
San Francisco with Trent Balke
established as the GM so will Kelly be able to let go of that and focus just on
Head Coaching duties? I think that even
though it was known that Kelly was interviewing with the Niners, it was thought
that Kelly may have really been maneuvering towards the Tennessee Titans and the chance to once again work with Marcus Mariota. However, the coaching carousel is beginning
to stop with jobs disappearing from the market, and the Niners needed to act
before it was too late.
There is a common theory that in the NFL if
you fire a coach you go for the opposite of what you had last time when
choosing the next, a theory that rings true today. Jim
Tomsula a first time head coach with a career in defensive coaching could
not be more removed from the offensive
schemes of Chip Kelly.
Kelly will of course have a fairly high
draft pick in San Francisco and till now the common thought was that would be
used on a QB, and of course it still might.
However, Kelly has made no secret of the fact that he has been a big fan
of Colin Kaepernick and was rumored
to be looking to sign him to run his scheme wherever Kelly was to coach next
(according to NFL reporter Ian
Rapportport). Landing in San
Francisco Kelly inherits Kaepernick anyway, so this may just be the second
chance Kaepernick needs and maybe it will now be Blaine Gabbert looking for a backup role elsewhere next year.
The Kelly system has always worked best
with a mobile athletic QB who can provide a running threat, something Kelly
hasn’t had since Mariota and something Kaepernick has been encouraged to move
away from after the 49ers Super Bowl season 3 years ago, this could then be a
match made in Silicon Heaven. If this is
the plan that is great news for the Niners in many ways, if they are not taking
a QB early then they can use that pick for another playmaker which the team
needs, be it at Receiver or Pass Rusher.
Fair to say that when Free Agency and draft
time come around the 49ers may be quite active as Kelly looks to overhaul what
was a disappointing team last year when compared to their history. However history also tells us that coaches
with new offensive schemes tend to do well in San Francisco, Bill Walsh and the West Coast offence anyone! It is fair to say this appointment is not
universally liked, but if Kelly can recreate the former magic with Kaepernick
or Gabbert or a draft pick then the fans will be there, and for the most part
whether you like his systems or training regimes or not Kelly has won games
just about everywhere he has been, last season aside. He has some pieces in place in San Francisco
will the QB proof system be reborn, watch this space it should be fun to watch.

Article by Rob Newell
When it comes to January football in recent
times, you have to admit there is something about the Seattle Seahawks, things do seem to happen at the end of their
games. They will tell you not always in
their favour of course (Super Bowl 49)
but the two time NFC Champions are still in it and fighting for a third
straight Super Bowl mainly as a
result of two single plays.
People talk in hushed revered tones about
the mystique of the frozen tundra of Green
Bay and with good reason. However if
the city of Minnesota had played
more outside games instead of the domed stadiums, then that legend may just
belong to the Vikings and not the Packers.
The Wild Card matchup in January 2016 was recorded as the third lowest
game temperature in NFL history, with the wind chill making it feel like
negative 25.
No surprise then that we were not treated
to a free flowing West Coast
offensive exhibition, this was a day when defence was king, as you would expect
from a 10-9 final score, but both defensive units were excellent. Teddy Bridgewater
and Russell Wilson were under severe
pressure pretty much all day long, and stepping up in the pocket just to try
and get something on a pass in those temperatures usually resulted in a sack or
a QB hit for the defence. What little
momentum there was through the opening 3 quarters was just on the side of the
Vikings, but this Seahawks team was not about to give up a touchdown for anyone
and held to two Blair Walsh field
goals.
It is not uncommon though for Pete Carrol to talk about the
importance of winning the 4th quarter, this Seahawks team act at
times like it is their right to do this, and so it proved again as this game
all turned on a moment of magic once again from Russell Wilson. Just inside the Vikings half for the first
time in a long time, the ball was snapped as Wilson was still identifying the
blitz, the ball therefore sailed past Wilson to around the 50 yard line. Wilson scrambled after it, was able to gather
the ball and roll out to his right before the blitz could arrive. This gave Wilson the chance to find rookie
Tyler Lockett left free over the middle, who took the ball down to the 4 yard
line.
A few plays later Wilson finds Doug Baldwin and Seattle are in
front. The next possession and the
Vikings biggest star Adrian Peterson
fumbles the ball under pressure from Kam
Chancellor and Jeremy Lane and
the Seahawks recovered for what would turn into the winning Field Goal attempt. Peterson out of all the players the league
suspended last year for domestic abuse seems to have rehabilitated back into
the league the easiest, but I wonder if the powers that be had one more thing
in store as a matter of penance for Peterson as that fumble came out far too
easily.
Credit to Teddy though, down 10-9 and in
final drive of the game scenario and under extreme pressure, Teddy stood tough
and maneuvered the Vikings into what was surely a game winning 27 yarder for
Blair Walsh, but it was pulled way left and Seattle advanced as the Vikings
slumped to the ground like they had been hit by a switch. The Seahawks will now face Carolina in Charlotte and the chance of another NFC West showdown to decide the
NFC title is still on the table although that would need to be hosted by Arizona for that to occur, somewhere no
doubt a lot warmer that Minnesota this past weekend.
Speaking of somewhere warmer than
Minnesota, football has returned to the city of Los Angeles in the form of the Rams. The league owners have approved the plans of
Rams owner Stan Kroenke by a 30-2
margin smashing the 24 votes required to relocate. The Chargers
may yet also move to be part of the new stadium Kroenke is building, but if
they reject that option then the Raiders
would have the option instead. For NFL
fans from the mid 80’s like myself the Los
Angeles Rams just sounds more right than St Louis, no offence to the city of St Louis intended.
Will the full rebirth of the LA Rams be
completed by the lighter blue and yellow uniforms just to complete the familiar
feel of this, time will tell but the Rams should be moving soon to play
initially at the USC Stadium as
their new stadium is built and it promises to be a stadium that rivals the
Cowboys stadium or house that Jerry built as it is commonly known. With a stadium promising to deliver the wow
factor it is going to be interesting to see how much longer Jeff Fisher will be given to get past
7-9 records or for Case Keenum to be
a starting QB. When in LA you need to be
a bit more showbiz to compete, we will see if changes are coming now that LA is
a potential destination for free agents etc…

Article by Rob Newell
As has become the norm, Week 17 was once
again divisional matchups, which in the NFC West meant nothing was at stake
except pride and confidence as first place Arizona
entertained 2nd place Seattle
and 4th place San Francisco
entertained 3rd place Rams. I would say St Louis but later this month that may be inaccurate as they are
expected to file their relocation claim today (4th January) ahead of
the owners meeting on the 12th January. Los
Angeles does seem to beckon the Rams, will the Chargers or Raiders join
them, my feeling is that it will be the Chargers with Oakland retaining the Raiders for now.
Back to the NFC West though and I will
start with the two lower placed teams and what ended after overtime with a
victory I predicted last week for the 49ers.
There was no reason on paper to believe the Niners should have won this
game, apart from it is an NFC West type thing and the Rams defeat means yet
another 7-9 season for the Rams, yet it seems Coach Fisher is going to be safe
yet again. Another losing season for Fisher next year once the team is in LA
and I fear his luck may run out before the attendance figures drop.
In San Francisco Coach Tomsula has not enjoyed the same luck as Fisher, despite winning
this game to take San Francisco to a 5-11 record and the fifth pick in the 2016
draft when the whole NFL viewing world felt they were nailed on number one pick
after the off-season retirements.
Tomsula was let go on the Sunday evening following the game in a move
reminiscent of last year when Jim
Harbaugh was finally released following week 17. Something not lost on Harbaugh who took to
social media to comment when the news had broken. Chip
Kelly and Mike Shanahan are
early names in the mix for the 49ers job, I expect Kelly is really looking
towards Tennessee and Marcus Mariota so maybe Shanahan will
return.
Both Rams and 49ers have questions about
the QB position with the original higher paid designated starters being benched
in favour of the backups. Blaine Gabbert at least has shown
something in relief of Colin Kaepernick
without any running game help or without starting receivers for most of his
games, and I expect Gabbert will remaining in San Francisco with Kaepernick
traded but the new Head Coach will be looking to draft his own QB of the
future. The Rams have probably finished
to far down the order to look at drafting a QB in April so a free agency move
could be on the agenda again. Whoever
comes to the Rams will be delighted with the running game in the shape of Todd Gurley but the Rams receivers are
in dire need of an upgrade and a proper number one receiver.
Now for the headline act, Seattle at
Arizona. The Cardinals had a shot at the
overall number one seed if other results went their way, but that soon became a
dream as Seattle put in their best showing of the season and limited Arizona to
their worst. The Seahawks defence
playing without Kam Chancellor completely
shut down the Cardinals. Maybe being
back at the sight of their Super Bowl
defeat last season inspired them to put things right and the Seahawks cruised
to a 36-6 victory on the back of their defence and special teams.
At one point just before half-time Tyler Lockett the rookie of the year
candidate had more return yardage than the entire Cardinals offence had racked
up. The Cardinals were getting beaten up
so bad that Carson Palmer came out
in the second half just to keep him for the playoffs, meanwhile his Seahawks
counterpart Russell Wilson has been
the best QB in the league in the second half of the season and with the defence
and special teams giving him short fields it is almost unfair. Perhaps making it even more unfair is that
this Seahawks offence already ranked in the top 5 to complement their once
again number one defence is about to get Marshawn
Lynch back for the playoffs.
The 12’s will not have home field advantage
this time but off the back of this game in Arizona there is nobody in the NFC
happy to be playing Seattle. The late
night Sunday game between the Vikings
and Packers saw the Vikings win to
claim the division and 3 seed and a game against the Seahawks, whilst the
Packers by losing have a game at Washington. I am sure Mike McCarthy was aware of this going into the game. Who would you rather play this weekend,
Washington or Seattle?
The Cardinals will now have a bye week
after their first division title since 2009 and you can be sure Bruce Arians will get his team to
rebound from this performance when they host a playoff game in two weeks. Don’t be surprised though if the week after
that the Cardinals once again are hosting these Seahawks with a lot more on the
line.

Article by Rob Newell
First I hope that each of you, my
fellow NFL fans have enjoyed a very Merry
Christmas, spent with family and friends.
I apologise for missing a week here due to unforeseen hospital visits
more than the demands of the season, but I am back today to give you your
update of what is what in the NFC West.
Congratulations to the Arizona Cardinals, they are your 2015
NFC West champions. With one regular season game remaining the Cardinals could
yet clinch the number one overall seed but have at least guaranteed themselves
a first round bye. They have looked to
be the most complete team in the league for most of the season ranking in the
top 5 on both offence and defence, and when Chris Johnson went down injured and rookie David Johnson took over the starting running back role, you could
easily argue that the Cardinals got even stronger, as Carson Palmer has put together a season that has earned him a place
in the MVP conversation. However, this
team has lost the Honey Badger for
the rest of the year, how big a loss will this prove to be on the defensive
side of the ball? He gave the Cardinals
the sort of defensive x factor that Troy
Polymalu gave the Steelers in
his prime, making plays in the secondary, stuffing the run and crashing the
line of scrimmage for QB pressures and sacks, the Cardinals have cover of
course but against the top teams in the league will they rue his injury in the
dying moments of the Eagles game.
Also congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks who have clinched
themselves a playoff spot. This team which
had the high profile Jimmy Graham
signing in Free Agency of course has sparked again at the end of the year,
rather reminiscently of last season, and ironically after Graham was lost for
the year. Russell Wilson has put the
team on his shoulders and legs and who would have thought that Doug Baldwin would ever be in the same
ballpark as Jerry Rice when it comes
to receiving records, but by going on a run of 5 games where he has claimed 13
touchdowns Baldwin has done something that only the G.O.A.T. has previously
managed, oh and a fit Marshawn Lynch
might be back in week 17 and ready to bring Beast Mode back for the
playoffs. The defence may not the all-conquering
outfit of a few seasons ago but it still has Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett, Cliff
Avril, put bluntly the Seahawks were the team that the rest of the NFC
hoped wouldn’t make the playoffs, but Pete
Carrol has got them there and now there are some who would make them
favourites to appear in San Francisco
come early February. Ignore the recent Rams blip, the Rams have always managed
to play Seattle well, it hasn’t said much for the Rams otherwise meanwhile the
Seahawks are two-time Super Bowl
finalists. They may be on the road but
write off the Seahawks at your peril.
Next week the NFC North will be decided when Green Bay play the Vikings for
the 3 seed the loser will likely have the 5 seed, the 3 seed will be at home to
Seattle while the 5 seed on the road to Washington,
would you almost prefer to lose the division ?
Back to those (for now) St Louis Rams, Coach Fisher at times has let the strain show with some very
questionable decisions and comments, but the Rams have recovered from their
annual mid-season slump and are pushing 7-9 or 8-8 yet again with a game with
the 49ers to come, how they manage
to get so close to .500 each year is almost mythical. Their defence which when healthy is a rival
for any in the league has been decimated by injury, but Aaron Donald the second year lineman may be on the verge of the
unthinkable and be a serious contender to Justin
James Watt as the Defensive Player of
the Year. On offence Tavon Austin has finally arrived as the
Rams for the first time since he was drafted actually looked like they had some
clue how to use him, he is closing in on a 1000 yard from line of scrimmage
season before you add in his return game threat, and then there is Todd Gurley. Every time Gurley looks good the Rams do too,
stop Gurley and you probably stop the Rams, but Gurley is a rookie of course recovering
from an ACL and what we have seen this year which may yet earn him Offensive Rookie of the Year, is
probably a fraction of what he will be in the coming years. Will those years be in St Louis or Los Angeles of course? And what will
the Rams do at QB, is Case Keenum
the answer? While Fisher is in charge
maybe, Fisher is happy with 100-200 yards passing as long as Gurley is running
the game, but once again we don’t know if the Rams have the QB or Receivers to
have than backup Plan B.
Which takes me to San Francisco 49ers, all year long it was supposed to be a
historical dumpster fire type season, and yes they will finish bottom of the
West with a chance of one of the higher draft picks next April, but against the
expectations this hasn’t been that bad a season. I would argue that there is even a positive
feel since Blaine Gabbert took over
QB responsibilities from Colin
Kaepernick, Gabbert has looked far superior to his Jaguars form and played
most of his games with basically one receiver, and practice squad running backs
and tight ends, yet still managed to look good, Kaepernick for his games this
year had the starters around him before they got hurt or traded and may well
have been the worst QB in the league, despite rhetoric to the opposite, expect
Kaepernick to be wearing a different uniform next year. Also the Niners defence has not been that
bad, led by the returning Navarro Bowman
who should be in consideration for comeback player of the year, possibly with
Gabbert, Bowman has returned to his old form and the Niners have pushed most
opponents all the way, not many have thrashed them. Time spent on the field in that there was far
too much of it has cost the Niners defence which does not have the depth it once
did, but again when Gabbert took over and the offence suddenly kept drives
alive for longer, the defensive starters had more rest and came out and played
better. There is a long way to go of
course, and Coach Jim Tomsula may yet not get a second season but there things
to encourage Niners faithful for the coming years.
Whoever you support, enjoy the
playoffs and of course Happy New Year!

Article by Rob Newell
We have reached that part of
the season where everything in the NFC West starts to change, it seems to be an
annual thing and this year seems to be no different. Just a few weeks ago, we all thought that the
San Francisco 49ers were sure fire
number one pick contenders, the St Louis
Rams were good shots for a Wild Card and the Seattle Seahawks were as likely to beat themselves than the
opposition. Now just a few weeks later,
all that has changed, but first let's have a quick look at the division leading
Arizona Cardinals.
Coming off a run which has
seen them beat their 3 divisional rivals the Cardinals are rolling and look to
be on course for a bye week and the number 2 conference seeding, also the
Cardinals had their own moment of history in the 4th quarter of
their blowout road victory over the Rams when Larry Fitzgerald hauled in the 1000th catch of what will
be a Hall of Fame career. The Cardinals 27-3 victory was only that
close thanks to the quality of the Rams defence who spent a lot of time on the
field in this one.
Seems a long time ago that Todd Gurley went 4 straight weeks over
100 yards and was being crowned rookie of the year already, add in a Wide
Receiver core missing its safest pair of hands in Stedman Bailey, and has now developed a case of the drops, with a
QB competition between Nick Foles
and Case Keenum, neither of whom
would start elsewhere based on this season's evidence, and you see why Head
Coach Jeff Fisher felt the need to
fire his offensive coordinator on Monday.
Might this be too little too
late, there is a groundswell of opinion that Fisher himself may be in danger in
St Louis, or indeed even Los Angeles,
we await to hear more on that, I am sure it was just coincidental that just
after the league have met to discuss LA the Rams chose to wear the old LA Rams
throwback uniforms. Speaking of uniforms,
have you seen the Rams colour rush uniforms for the final home game of the
year? Let's just say if the lights in
the dome go out you may not know for a while.
Any remember this time last
year when the Seahawks were trying to be more of a passing team, it wasn’t
working so they went back to what they did best with Beast Mode and suddenly the Super
Bowl run started. Then in the
offseason Jimmy Graham was bought in
as the missing piece, and one again we were looking at a Seahawks passing game,
which up to now hasn’t really worked and this time Beast Mode is out injured
when Graham also is lost for the season.
Time to panic for Pete Carrol? Not a chance, the next man
up at Running Back is undrafted rookie Trevor
Rawls who this year has outbeasted the beast mode. The Seahawks have once again reverted to
their strengths and getting Jeremy Lane
back in the Legion of Boom has
helped too, but the Seahawks are rolling again.
The division may be unreachable now but they have got themselves into a
playoff spot and after the way they dismantled Adrian Peterson and his Vikings in Minnesota, there will not be any NFC team happy to play Seattle
come January even without the Seahawks 12th Man advantage.
What about the 49ers?
After their offseason, they could be relied upon to suck surely? Well
maybe why Colin Kaepernick was
playing they could, but Jim Tomsula
a few weeks ago decided to give Blaine Gabbert a chance, and things have looked
up for the Bay Area team ever since to the point where the 49ers are now tied
record wise with the Rams and most people believe Kaepernick is likely gone
elsewhere next season. Gabbert may not be the long term answer
either, but playing behind the same offensive live as Kaepernick and with less
options at RB and Receivers thank to injury, Gabbert has got this team moving
and was one bad referee call away from being 3-1 since taking over.
Ironically Gabbert may be
playing too well and the Niners may miss out on one of the top QB’s in the
draft next year thanks to the performance of Gabbert, this may just be Blaine’s
team for a season or so as the Niners look for the next QB of the future. Also I challenge anyone to look at how well
the Niners defence is playing and not agree that Navaro Bowman deserves some serious consideration for comeback
player of the year, if not for second place in the JJ Watt award for defensive
player of the year.
I will finish with one
cautionary note for Cardinals fans,
yes your team is going great but there seems to be a problem in getting the
play into the huddle at times, they are a team that have been caught several
times for delay of game, and in last few weeks have completed big pass plays on
several other plays when the ball has been snapped late and got away with it. The Cardinals are great and a balanced team
no matter what facet of their game you look at, but I’d like to see the clock
management managed just a little more carefully, manage that and we could be
talking about another Super Bowl appearance fro the NFC West.

Article by Robert Newell
'Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all through the
league, not a torn shoulder was an issue as Colin Kaepernick looks set to be a former San Francisco 49er. There
was much talk that he was needing a rest, and Blaine Gabbert came in and beat Atlanta. The narrative then
changed to Gabbert being the sacrificial lamb offered up to the Seattle Seahawks, and Kaepernick would
be back afterwards.
Well, as expected the Niners lost in Seattle, but Gabbert
showed once again that he is operating the Niners offence in a much better
fashion than we have seen from Kaepernick all year long, now news emerges that
Kaepernick asked to go on injured reserve and has had surgery on his
non-throwing shoulder, meaning from the Niners viewpoint this is now Blaine
Gabbert’s team till the end of the season.
The way Kaepernick’s contract was structured and being outplayed by
Gabbert it now seems an iron clad certainty that Kaepernick has played his last
down for San Francisco, if Gabbert can now keep them from the overall number
one pick may influence if it remains his team next year.
The Seahawks have their own passing of the torch moment, with
news Marshawn Lynch requires surgery
the Hawks turned to undrafted rookie Thomas
Rawls, who turned it on. Bear in
mind that this same 49ers defence held Davonte
Freeman, the then rushing leader to just 12 yards in their last outing,
Rawls was not having any of that. He
went for over 200 yards on the ground and almost 50 more receiving with two
touchdowns. Gabbert did not disgrace
himself though and he did have his first choice receiver in Anquian Boldin this time out, but the
Niners are desperately missing Carlos
Hyde from their own backfield, it will be interesting to see what Gabbert
can do when he has a legitimate running threat behind him, and he has already
rediscovered the Tight End position, albeit the week after Vernon Davis left the team.
Meanwhile division leader Arizona Cardinals kept rolling in a last second win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a win that maintained the Cardinals three
game lead but meant a whole lot more for personal reasons to former Bengal, Carson Palmer. This was a much stronger Bengals side than
the one who didn’t turn up last time out against the Texans, but at the key
moments, Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald
combined to put the Cardinals in place for the winning Field Goal. They have San Francisco next for all looks
good for the Cardinals, whilst the Seahawks entertain Pittsburgh, could Bruce
Arians old team do his new one a favour this time around.
The Rams
meanwhile seem to self destruct again, Case
Keenum despite appearing to be concussed was left in the game and two plays
later fumbled the ball back to Baltimore who despite losing Justin Forsett with a broken arm and as
it turned out Joe Flacco with a ACL
/ MCL, but Flacco stayed in to end the game and moved the Ravens down to the
winning Field Goal.
After the game two bits of Rams news, Stedman Bailey involved in a shooting incident and had been shot in
the head several times reportedly, although thankfully he remains in a stable
but critical condition. Thoughts and prayers for continued swift recovery. Also the Rams announced as playing at Twickenham in 2016 against an NFC East
opponent, now we just need to know if that will be the St Louis or Los Angeles Rams coming to London.